[JoshuaKaitlyn]

From 1962 part 1:

Taras Bulba - Beginning 1962 as I ended 1961 with an historical (ish) drama. Starring Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis, this was one of those films that I really enjoyed was I was younger when it was usually shown on a Sunday afternoon. However I dont think its aged particulary well, the opening battle scenes seem to be undercranked giving them an almost comical look and there is far too much use of superimposition especially when Brynner is astride his horse waving his sabre around (!), there's also the 'romantic' blurry closeups of Curtis and his love interest. I glossed over these things when I was younger but now sadly they seem more noticeable.

King Kong Vs Godzilla - The third Godzilla picture in the franchise and the first in colour. Along for the ride is King Kong, (a rather mangey looking one at that). Not as serious as the 1954 classic reflecting Eiji Tsuburaya's desire to add a more lighter, (comical) tone to the series. Despite the effects and the mangey gorilla suit, (worn by Ron?), I enjoyed it!

Varan the Unbelievable - Originally released in Japan as 'Daikaijû Baran' in 1958 this Kaiju picture was almost remade entirely for the American market and released in 1962 as the above title. In this version an American officer was added, Akira Ifukube's score was replaced and Varan's ability to fly was gone. It would be interesting to see the original Japanese cut of this.

Girls, Girls, Girls - Another Presley musical, and not a great one by any means, here he's just playing the same role as he does in most of these musicals. However there is one interesting scene which involved a boating accident where following the rescue of the girl a little motorboat goes around the front of a much larger sailing ship and is obviously run over by the larger vessel, you can see the stuntman extend his arm out to avoid the collision, the aftermath we don't see as the scene cuts to the Captain covering his face and saying "ouch!"

Dr No - The 500th movie in my historical cinema project is so well known theres little point in reviewing it. However I've seen it so many times that I quickly get bored with it, last time I saw this was in 2007 and still I was nodding off!

Lawrence of Arabia - A great movie that looks great on Blu. A classic in every sense of the word, from performances to cinematography. Those scenes of the sun rising over the desert are stunning.

Kid Galahad - Another Presley musical and again not a great one. With Charles Bronson as Presley's boxing coach this is a mediocre entry in Elvis' film career.

Sundays and Cybele (Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray) - Winner of the Best Foreign Picture catagory at the 1962 Academy Awards. Hardy Krüger plays a former pilot who during the Indochina war suffers a crash that leaves him an amnesiac. He finds help in the friendship of child who has been abandoned by her father at a school run by nuns who are led to believe that Krüger is her father who comes to visit each Sunday.

Captain Clegg - A non horror from Hammer, (unless you count the skeletal horsemen). My first time seeing this and although I was a little bored to begin with it quickly grabbed my attention and was well worth the time spent. The bluray presentation from Final Cut isn't the best but its still watchable.